Multi-slide guide-bar



Feb. 14, 1967 R. ca. BASSIST 3,303,670

MULTI-SLIDE GUIDE-BAR Filed May 4, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Feb. 14, 1967 G. BASSIST 3,303,670

MULTI-SLIDE GUIDE-BAR Filed May 4, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

FIG. 2

INVENTOR.

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Feb.14,1967 R.G.BASS|ST 3,303, 70

MULI'I-SLIDE GUIDE-BAR Filed May 4, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United StatesPatent 3,303,670 MULTI-SLIDE GUIDE-BAR Rudolph George Bassist, 3660Waldo Ave., New York, N.Y. 10063 Filed May 4, 1964, Ser. No. 364,612 1Claim. (Cl. 66-86) This invention broadly relates to the art ofproducing ornamental knitted fabrics, knitted laces, and particularly toan improved method and means for producing such fabrics.

As is well known in the art, the usual operation of a knitting machine,whether a warp knitting machine or otherwise, is based on thecooperation of the thread guide elements with corresponding knittingneedles. There are usually employed knitting needles supported by andextending from mobile knitting needle bars adapted for reciprocating,substantially vertical movements.

In cooperation with the needle of such needle-bars, there are usuallyemployed what are known as guidebars, to which are removably attached atseries of guide elements. All of the fixed guide elements, dependingfrom a guide-bar, are aligned and move simultaneously and are caused topass around and in the spaces between the needles. All of the guide-barsin a knitting machine are usually actuated by pattern wheels or linksand related instrumentalities.

The combined actuating means for the guide-bars are adapted to causetheads carried by the guide elements to move about the verticallyreciprocating needles to produce knitted fabrics of predetermined typesor patterns, which may include ornamental stitch designs or laces. Allof such knitted fabrics, including so-called ground stitch fabrics, withor without ornamental stitch designs, are presently produced by theemployment of a substantially large number of guide-bars carrying fixedthread guide elements. Some of such guide-bars, with fixed, uniformlyspaced and aligned thread-guiding elements, serve for producing normalor ground stitch knitting fabric, but for effecting ornamental or lacestitch designs in such normal knitted fabric, there is presentlyrequired the employment of additional guide-bars, provided with a numberof fixedly held, variously spaced, individual thread-guiding elements.The additional guide-bars supporting said ornament-producingthreadguiding elements are axially reciprocated along their longitudinalaxes by individually designed and individually operated pattern wheelsor links.

Thus, in order to produce knitted fabrics with ornamental stitch designson present-day types of machines, a large number of specific guide-barswith fixed, especialy positioned threadguiding elements are required, inaddition to the usual number of guide-bars.

From the foregoing it becomes evident that the heretofore employedmethods and devices for producing ornamental stitch designs, in suchfabrics, require a rather substantial mechanical equipment, in additionto the machinery for producing knitted lace fabric. Such additioualequipment is not only costly in its production but also necessitates theprovision of adequate space for its operation.

The present invention contemplates producing ornamental stitch designsin knitted fabrics, by an entirely new, far more economical method, thatis, by the use of a greatly reduced number of guide-bars and theirrequired actuating means, wherein some of the formerly employedguide-bars are effectively replaced by what will be known as,multislide-bars.

These multislide-bars are fixed and only in these multisides are theremobile thread guide elements. These mobile thread guide elements aremounted in these slides and connected with a steel rod to each other,which reciprocates axially in its usual way, i.e., in the direction ofits longitudinal axis. These slides are individually controlled frompattern wheels, i.e., so as to be selectively movable, relative to andlongitudinally of said guide elements adequately spaced in these slides.

By the reduction of the number of guide-bars and their respectiveactuating means a substantial reduction in space and operationalexpenditure is effected, and the scope of designing is increased.

The prime object of this invention is an improved method of and improvedmeans for producing ornamental stitch designs in knitted fabrics, at asubstantial saving over heretofore employed methods of and means foreffecting the same or similar results, with greater efiiciency of themechanical equipment.

The foregoing and still further objects and additional advantages of thepresent invention, will become more fully apparent from the ensuingdescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which latterare presented in a purely diagrammatical form to serve for explanatorypurposes only, without any intent to restrict this invention to thestructures illustrated, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental diagrammatic front elevation of a portion of aknitting machine, disclosing in the foreground a fixed guide bar withfour slides with guide elements.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section approximately along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1, ofthe fixed guide bar supporting four slides and the mobile guideelements.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken approximately along lines 33 of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along lines 44 of FIG. 1 illustrating indetail the push rod connection with the pattern wheel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the manner in which the multislide barmechanism is placed in a warp knitting machine in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5, and showingfurther details of the supporting of the fixed guide-bar in the warpknitting frame.

FIG. 7 shows modifications of certainparts appearing in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view in detail of a mobile guideelement.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating a supporting cover for themobile guide elements.

The fragmental illustration in FIG. 1, discloses a fixed guide-bar 10,for supporting mobile guide elements in four slots a, b, c, and d. It ispresumed that either in front or rear, or both in front and the rear ofbar 10, are disposed additional guide-bars of the conventional kind.

Beneath all of the guide-bars, including guide-bar 10, there is arrangeda needle bar, in the usual manner, as indicated at 12, and whichsupports exchangeable needles and needle holders 13, from which needles14 extend upwardly.

The improved multi slide guide-bars and the common type of guide-barswith fixedly held guide elements, are designed to be operated by meansof pattern wheels 'or pattern links, indicated at 15, 16, 17, and 18. Asis known, these pattern wheels are driven continuously by the driveshaft (not shown) of the knitting machine. Guide-bar 10, illustrated inthe drawings, is intended to provide additional, entirely new anddifferent functions, from guide-bars equipped with fixed guide elements.

The guide-bar 10 is fixed and supports the mobile guide elements withinthe slots a, b, c, and d. The mobile guide elements are placed in eachof these slots and are held therein in a predetermined manner by meansof steel rods, 19, 20, 21, and 22. Steel rods, 19, 20, 21, and 22 arerespectively connected to more rigid steel shafts, 19', 20-,

21', and 22, which are in turn respectively connected in a well knownmanner to the pattern wheels, 15, 16, 17,

and 18, and push rods, 23, 24, 25 and 26.

All the push rods are pressed by a spring against the pattern wheels ina well known manner.

The placing of the different mobile-guide elements is in accordance withthe design, and this method is known to those skilled in the art asnesting.

The mobile guide elements hold guide needles, 27, 28, Hand 30. It isalso a feature of this invention to make the guide needles 2-7, 28, 29and 30 of different lengths, to enable the guide needles, to reach fromthe ditfe'rent slots in the knitting area to engage knitting needles 14.This knitting procedure is well known to those skilled in the art andwill therefore not be further explained.

In FIG. 8, is an enlarged view of a mobile guide element generallydesignated as 31. The latter demonstrates that many guide needles 33 canbe placed in groove 32, according to the design requirements. Guideneedle 33, has a 90 bend 35, the latter fitting exactly in holes 36. Acover 34, and screws 37, keep the guide needles 33 secured withingrooves 32.

Guide element 31 is attached to a steel rod 39 and secured in place withclamps 40 and 41.

In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity, the features of the presentinvention are described in connection with a single guide-bar, althoughit will be understood, as hereinbe fore pointed out, that more than oneguide-bar will be employed.

Mounted'in proximity to the needles 14, is the fixed guide-bar 10, whichcarries a plurality of downwardly projecting mobile guide needles, 27,28, 29, and 30, which are adapted to move in a forward-and-backwarddirection within the spaces between the needles.

This component of movement of the guide needles, is under the control ofthe main shaft (not shown), and in turn by the swing shaft 43.

In this figure, I have illustratively shown swing-shaft 43, whichtransmits a rocking movement in the direction of the arrows shown inFIGS. 2-4, to hanger elements 42, which carry the fixed guide-bar 10 andsupport the rigid steel shafts 19', 2Q, 21' and 22.

Merely by way of example, I have chosen to illustrate the presentinvention as it may be applied to a so-called war-p knitting machine.Some of the parts of such a machine are shown in operative relationshipin FIG. 5. In this figure, I have shown a multiplicity of guide-bars ofthe present invention, 54, 55, 5'6, and 57, mixed with guidebars 51 and53 of the conventional type.

In general, it will be understood that those skilled in the art may makechanges to produce certain designs. Also, the number of bars is notlimited. The articulation is transmitted by a swing shaft 43' and aswing arm 50, which provides support for the guide-bars 51-57. Theperiphery of the pattern wheel is provided with a predetermined seriesof raised and depressed portions (see FIG. 1), 58, 59, 6t), and 61, andthe ends of the'guide-bars are provided with followers 62, 63, 64, and65 (see FIG. 1) which are constantly pressed against the periphery ofthe pattern wheels, or links, in a yieldable manner, by means ofsprings. Accordingly, certain longitudinal movements are imparted to theguide-bars in a predetermined sequence and of predetermined magnitudes,as the followers are pushed to the left or right under the actions ofthe pattern wheels and the springs, in a wellknown fashion, per se,although the present invention makes it possible to provide a fargreater number of variations.

The needle bar 12 and the knitting needles 14 are located beneath anddirectly along the central 'axis of the guide-bars and swing armarrangement of FIG. 5, so that all the guide needles can pass betweenthe knitting needles for the lapping motion to produce knitted fabricsin a wellknown fashion.

It makes no difference whether the type of knitting needles is a LatchNeedle, or a Spring Board Needle, or any other kind.

But, whatever the nature or mode of operation of the warp-knittingmachine maybe, it will embody, of course, a mechanism adapted to performa knitting operation upon yarn supplied to it.

In FIG. 6 is shown ingreater detail, the construction of one of theguide-bars designated by the reference numetals 54, 55, 56 and 57 in 5.I

The swing shaft 43' is journaled within a bearing 66, and multi-slideguide bar 56 is mounted around swing arm 50 so that guide bar 56 is'roc'kedby the rocking motion of swing arm 50; To prevent guide bar 56from receiving horizontal movement from the pattern wheel ofconventional guide bars such as 51, yoke 69 is fixed in place withrespect to bracket 67 by means of conventional 7 screws (not shown)placed within holes 70 and 71.-

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 2, whereinmobile guide elements '72 and 73 extend at different lengths from theguide bar 10' to enable guide elements 72 and 73 to pass one anotherwithout in terfe'rence. Guide needles 74 and 75, which extendrespectively from slide elements 73 and 72, are formed in the mannershown in FIG. 7 to make such passage possible.

FIG. 9 illustrates a suitable supporting cover 76 placed over a guideelement 77, which is held in place by means of screws 78 and 79. In FIG.1 screw holes 80 are shown which receive screws such as 78 for theplacement of a supporting cover such as 76 over the guide elements,

FIG. 2, illustrates the multi slide guide-bar 10, with slots a, b, c andd, and guide needle'29, screw-hole 80, and the supporting bracket 42.

FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which bracket 42 carries the strongerrigid steel shafts 21 and 19',

FIG. 4, illustrates the connection of the swinging rigid steel shafts19' and 21 to the stationary sliding pushrods 23 and 24, by means ofswinging plates 51 and 5.2, which are fastened to pushrods 23 and 24, sothat swinging pushrods 23 and 24 can slide on plates51 and 52.

In general, it will be understood that the details herein described andillustrated, may be modified by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in theappended claim. It is therefore, intended that these details beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus describedmy invention, and illustrated its use, what I claimas new, and desire to secure by Letters of Patent, is: i

In a knitting machine of the type comprising a needle bar having aplurality of upwardly projecting needles:

a guide bar cooperating with said needle bar, said guide bar having aplurality of substantially parallel elongated slots formed in its face,each of said slots being spaced a distance from said needle bardifferent from the spacing of every other slot from said needle bar, atleast one mobile guide element associated with each slot, each of saidguide elements having a head slidably located within its respective slotand a portion extending from the head to a point outwardly of itsrespective slot, the length of said extending portions varying with thedistance of their associated slots from said needle bar, the guideelement as-. sociated with the slot closest to said needle bar havingthe shortest extending portion and the guide element associated with theslot farthest from said needle bar having the longest extending portion,

means for independently moving each of said mobile guide elements withrespect to said slots along paths parallel to the longitudinal axis ofsaid guide bar, said means including a separate pattern wheel allocatedto each of said guide elements, a follower responsive to each patternwheel, and a push rod op 3,303,670 5 6 eratively connected between eachof said followers bile guide elements may be moved past one another anda different one of said guide elements, and without interference fromone another. at least one guide needle extending from each mobile guideelement toward said needle bar, said guide References Cited by theExaminer needles being mounted near the free ends of said ex- 5 UNITEDSTATES PATENTS tending portions so that the guide needles mounted3,074,259 1/1963 Bassist 6684 on the guide elements farther from saidneedle bar 3,168,821 2/ 1965 Zwingenberger 6684 are spaced farther fromsaid guide bar than the guide 3,247,686 4/ 1966 Lanthier 6686fizzglzsbgilounted on guide elements closer to said 10 MERVIN STEINPrimary Examiner.

whereby said guide needles mounted on different rno- FELDBAUM, AssistantExamine!-

